Key SCOTUS Cases – Article II – US v Nixon

Grand jury named President Nixon as un-indicted co-conspirator. Special prosecutor subpoenaed audiotapes and documents of conversations between President and staff, which President moved to quash, citing executive privilege. Supreme Court held that (1) it had jurisdiction; (2) issue regarding subpoena was justiciable and appealable; (3) mere assertion of an “intra-branch dispute” was insufficient to defeat federal jurisdiction; and (4) mere claim of executive privilege, rather than specific assertion of privilege against disclosure cannot trump due process, requiring disclosure of all relevant evidence in a criminal case.